by Gary Kneezel

Hey, wait a minute! Doesn’t John 3:16 say that God loved the world so much that He gave His one and only Son so that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life? If God loves the world, shouldn’t I love the world? Well, yes and no. Yes, I should love the people of the world. Jesus wants me not only to love my neighbor (Matthew 23:39), but my enemy as well (Matthew 5:43-44). But the world is fallen into sin, and the things of the world will tend to entice me away from God – just as they did to Solomon in the passage we looked at yesterday. So no, I should not love the things of the world, and I should be very careful if I realize that the people that I love are tending to draw me away from God.

When you have an opponent – whether in business, or in a game, or in a battle – it is helpful to know his tactics in advance, so you can recognize what he is doing and respond appropriately. We are in a spiritual battle and we are being tempted to turn away from God. John tells us that there are three types of temptation that we should watch out for – the cravings of sinful man, the lust of the eyes, and the boasting of what one has and does. Take a look at Genesis 3 (the temptation of Adam and Eve) and Matthew 4 (the temptation of Jesus) and see if you can find examples. Or consider the passage we studied yesterday, and see how Solomon was tempted and drawn away from God. The cravings of sinful man tend to be those temptations related to our physical body that draw us away from God. It is not sinful to have physical needs satisfied, whether for food or drink or sex. God created us as beings with physical needs. But do the ways I gratify those needs disregard God’s commands and draw me away from Him? Solomon may or may not have had sex outside of marriage. With 700 wives and 300 concubines, he might not have had the energy. But his wives turned his heart after other gods. The lust of the eyes is what makes me think that if I could only have that (whatever that is), I could be happy. For Solomon, the object of the lust of the eyes may have included possessions, such as splendid gold and ivory palace furnishings, and not just garages, but cities designated to house his horses and chariots. Although we don’t explicitly see Solomon verbally boasting in this passage, he has been set up by all those who came to him to believe that he was something special, maybe even godlike. So he turned away from worshiping the God who had given him wisdom, and worshiped the gods who brought him folly. Where am I tempted with regard to physical needs and pleasures, particularly in a way that dishonors God? Is it what I eat? Is it inappropriate sexual gratification? Where am I tempted with regard to the things that catch my eye and make me obsess over having them? Is it material possessions – a fine house, a fat bank account and a fast car? In what ways am I tempted to put myself on the throne that God should have in my life? Do I take the credit when I should be glorifying God? Do I follow God’s will or my own?

A fellow traveler,
Gary